Elon Musk could have launched his Starlink program in some other country. Why did he pick the U.S.? Because our country has been the center for scientific research. We had the best labs, the most scientists, the biggest research universities. In many fields that is still the case, but more and more we will be using the past tense. This once was the country to which students from other countries gravitated. Many of then stayed to add to the the sum of human knowledge and invigorate the American economy.
A recent article in Foreign Affairs detailed how China has moved to the front in a number of fields, including, ominously, research on missiles. And what are we doing about it? Here are three headlines on the same page in the April 30 issue of the Times. “Trump Expels Scientists Working on Climate Report for 2028,” “Lab Animals Euthanized as White House Slashes Research Funding,” and “E.P.A.’s Plan To Restrain Chemical Use Lacks Detail.” Grants to universities have been cut drastically. And if you were a foreign student hoping to study science, would you come to this country?
I don’t think Trump is a foreign agent or is deliberately trying to weaken the U.S. I think he is just that stupid. And Republicans in Congress are unwilling to stop this idiocy.
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